1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to floral delivery boxes used in the process of delivering floral arrangements. More particularly, the present invention relates to a floral delivery box apparatus which is easily set-up and which provides resistance to accidental tipping of a floral arrangement partly resident therein during the delivery process.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Floral arrangements prepared by florists are typically composed of a floral arrangement set into a pot. The pot serves to retain moisture and hold other materials, such as soil or a porous mass, into which roots or stems of the floral items of the floral arrangement are planted or inserted. Much time and artistry are involved in the selection of floral items and their exact relative positioning in order to achieve a floral arrangement having maximum beauty.
Since invariably the floral arrangement must be transported from the florist to the recipient, either by a delivery service or by the purchaser, great care must be taken in order to preserve the integrity of the floral arrangement all during the delivery process. There are several major considerations which must be taken into account when a floral arrangement is to be transported, among these are ability of the floral arrangement to be handled, protection of the floral arrangement from becoming disheveled, and minimization of the chance for the floral arrangement being tipped over.
Florists utilize a conventional floral delivery box which is configured from flat, stiff corrugated paper stock material having been provided with a pre-cut edge and preformed fold-lines which enable the florist to fold tabular portions thereof into a box, wherein the tabular portions are stapled together. The box thereby provided has four side walls and a bottom wall, wherein the top opposite the bottom wall is open. The florist then places the pot of the floral arrangement into the floral delivery box via its open top. The florist then wraps the floral arrangement and floral delivery box combination in floral wrapping composed of plastic, paper or other wrap material to thereby provide a barrier to dishevelment of the floral arrangement. The floral arrangement can be handled by grasping of the box, but typically the floral arrangement is so much larger than the box that this is difficult; therefore, frequently the floral arrangement is picked-up by the floral wrapping, which is clearly not a good practice since damage to the floral arrangement may occur.
While the above recounted conventional floral delivery box and the floral wrapping therefor have been used for years by florists, there yet remains the very real and significant problem of damage to the floral arrangement due to accidental tipping thereof during transportation. Certainly, the conventional floral box can offer very little to no inherent stability for the floral arrangement against tipping due to inertial forces generated during the driving of a motor vehicle. Alternatively, it is damaging to abut the flowers of the floral arrangement against some object in an effort to prevent the floral arrangement from tipping due to inertial forces generated during the driving of a motor vehicle. Accordingly, what is needed in the art is a floral delivery box which somehow offers protection of its floral arrangement from tipping during delivery, allows for the floral arrangement to be picked-up without risk of injury thereto, and yet allows for floral wrapping in a manner already in vogue by florists.